Some The biggest symbols of the streets of Paris are certain d’un ladies pulling their grocery carts down the sidewalk. In my mind, their belongings always seemed to be rickety things, giant mesh baskets on cheap plastic wheels each containing a tarpaulin-like bag where they could store wine, cheese, garlic western bread and baguette. Strollers are incredibly practical, especially if you walk or even take the subway, but with a little improvement, they’re ready to take the leap across the pond.
Photo: KELSEY MCCLELLAN
Spanish stroller manufacturer Rolser is leading that trend. The company sells a full line of strollers, including my favorite. Wallaby Tweed 2-wheeled foldable shopping cart. First, and most importantly, it’s beautiful, swapping the rattle basket for a folding tubular frame with a 40-liter bag, about 7.5 inches deep, 13 inches wide and 26 inches high, looking a bit like a giant. giant, flat, foldable basket. That sturdy fabric gives the bag sharp corners and is rubberized to keep your Cheerios from getting soggy if you get caught in the rain. Combine that with thick-toothed zippers set in a nice contrasting band and the whole thing comes off as surprisingly stylish. Additionally, the large 6.5-inch diameter and slightly quiet wheels help smooth out bumps on the road.
I love using my stroller because it allows me to get through an entire grocery store without having to carry heavy bags all over the neighborhood, but what I immediately noticed about my Wallaby when I started use that is the amount of compliments I get every time I touch the cart. street with it. A nice woman at a nearby Mexican grocery store went from admiring its practicality to making sure she knew the brand and model before I left the store. Two other people on the same trip tried to ask about it. At the grocery store, I appreciate this model’s feature where you fold it in half and then use a row of plastic hooks to clip the empty cart to the grocery cart while shopping. When checking in, you want to make sure you load the heavy items first to avoid crushing the more delicate or fragile items, and there’s a large zipper that runs along most of the exterior panel, making loading Loading and unloading is a little easier. While other models have a flap on top, this one just has a hard flap that gets in the way a bit when it comes time to load it. However, there are also some well-placed pockets, both on the top flap and inside the bag for storing items like pens, keys, and produce bags. As someone who often walks around the supermarket with a grocery list on a clipboard, I like the large pocket on the back of the bag that holds it nicely.
Off the pavement, it performs surprisingly well under load. The Rolser has both a recommended load limit of 55 pounds and a “max load” of 88 pounds. For months, I pushed mine to what seemed like the limit, stuffing it with several six-packs, a large pitcher of kombucha, milk, and other heavy grocery items to fill the bag. With fairly large wheels and a sturdy frame, it handles very well. One day I filled a thick stack of cookbooks about two-thirds full to donate to the Seattle Public Library, and even though the tires felt a bit squishy on the way to the Columbia Branch, the walking distance was Through many rows of houses, it is still very beautiful. easy. If you happen to have extra bags, they can be hung on the main bag, leaving you free to wave to jealous neighbors.
